Carnivore for a fortnight

Zamboni

I am day 5 into a two week trial of a carnivore animal product only diet :eek:
Thought I'd record experience here.
(Haven't been around the fitness/nutrition forum in years - are G'em, Will Heffernan, and Hanley still around? )

Food intake
Typical foods so far include steak, chicken, ribs, turkey burgers, lambs chops, mince, eggs. I have had tiny bits of cheese, butter and milk and tiny bit of spice. Practically immaterial. Avoiding condiments.
I eat lots of fat and skin (if I was doing this for longer I'd definitely be including organ meats).
I am not counting calories and just eat to satiety. I have been regularly on an intermittent fast previously but have increased my 8 hour eating window to 12 hour. I do feel the need to eat 3 times as opposed to my previous 2 meals.
I am only boiling or using oven.

Negatives
Peeing a lot - Body getting rid of tons of water.
Brain fogginess on Day 3/4 seems to be gone now.
Temporary increased resting heart rate on Day 3.
These symptoms all appear to be regularly reported moving into this style of eating.

Positives
I'm never hungry for sugary sh1te and haven't craved anything else. I can look at biscuits, chocolate, cake etc and I'm not even bothered which is highly unusual for me!
Luckily, I haven't had the diarrhea that some people have reported!

Other comments
No idea if coincidence but I have always hated waking up and getting up, More so than I could ever describe in words. This week hasn't been an issue at all.

Notes
I've tested most diets over the years and so far the most sustainable combo I've ever felt best on was say 90% paleo with a 16:8 IF (leaving 10% for cheat meals and general sh1te like birthday cakes). It is normal default.

Disclaimer: I'm not advocating for or against this diet. I just thought it would be fun to check it out from a curiosity basis.

Infernal Racket

Zamboni wrote: »

I am day 5 into a two week trial of a carnivore animal product only diet :eek:
Thought I'd record experience here.
(Haven't been around the fitness/nutrition forum in years - are G'em, Will Heffernan, and Hanley still around? )

Food intake
Typical foods so far include steak, chicken, ribs, turkey burgers, lambs chops, mince, eggs. I have had tiny bits of cheese, butter and milk and tiny bit of spice. Practically immaterial. Avoiding condiments.
I eat lots of fat and skin (if I was doing this for longer I'd definitely be including organ meats).
I am not counting calories and just eat to satiety. I have been regularly on an intermittent fast previously but have increased my 8 hour eating window to 12 hour. I do feel the need to eat 3 times as opposed to my previous 2 meals.
I am only boiling or using oven.

Negatives
Peeing a lot - Body getting rid of tons of water.
Brain fogginess on Day 3/4 seems to be gone now.
Temporary increased resting heart rate on Day 3.
These symptoms all appear to be regularly reported moving into this style of eating.

Positives
I'm never hungry for sugary sh1te and haven't craved anything else. I can look at biscuits, chocolate, cake etc and I'm not even bothered which is highly unusual for me!
Luckily, I haven't had the diarrhea that some people have reported!

Other comments
No idea if coincidence but I have always hated waking up and getting up, More so than I could ever describe in words. This week hasn't been an issue at all.

Notes
I've tested most diets over the years and so far the most sustainable combo I've ever felt best on was say 90% paleo with a 16:8 IF (leaving 10% for cheat meals and general sh1te like birthday cakes). It is normal default.

Disclaimer: I'm not advocating for or against this diet. I just thought it would be fun to check it out from a curiosity basis.

Sounds miserable

blackbox

Infernal Racket wrote: »

Sounds miserable

Are you not even having a beer?

JH_raheny

I think it sounds gross but please post updates on how you get on with it.
As weird as I think it is, as curious I am too, at the end of the day, people try so many different ways so why could it not work

Infernal Racket

JH_raheny wrote: »

I think it sounds gross but please post updates on how you get on with it.
As weird as I think it is, as curious I am too, at the end of the day, people try so many different ways so why could it not work

Can't be good for the body

Still waters

For what reason op, also not eating/craving sugary stuff goes hand in hand, the more you have the more you want, seems a peculiar enough diet, is this the one joe Rogan has been on about

jaykhunter

Sounds like a mental diet (esp as meat is expensive and quite high calorie) so thanks for posting your thoughts going through it! What's the spending been like?

jam_mac_jam

Don't do it for longer then two weeks, unless you are eating raw meat or liver you will get scurvy for a start. Do Atkins or Durkan or something. At least you get some green vegetables with those.

This is a dangerous diet to follow for any length of time. I am not sure this nonsense should be allowed on the forum.

silverharp

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Don't do it for longer then two weeks, unless you are eating raw meat or liver you will get scurvy for a start. Do Atkins or Durkan or something. At least you get some green vegetables with those.

This is a dangerous diet to follow for any length of time. I am not sure this nonsense should be allowed on the forum.

Im going to say you are wrong on Scurvy , if you don't eat sugar you need less vitamin C. There are people who have been doing Carnivore for years now, if it was that unhealthy that they were getting scurvy everyone would know that by now

jam_mac_jam

silverharp wrote: »

Im going to say you are wrong on Scurvy , if you don't eat sugar you need less vitamin C. There are people who have been doing Carnivore for years now, if it was that unhealthy that they were getting scurvy everyone would know that by now

well I'm not. If you don't eat organ or raw meat you will get scurvy. Look it up. The people who are doing it for years are eating organs. Which I mentioned above.

I could smoke a hundred cigarettes a day for years doesn't mean its good for me.

silverharp

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

well I'm not. If you don't eat organ or raw meat you will get scurvy. Look it up. The people who are doing it for years are eating organs. Which I mentioned above.

I could smoke a hundred cigarettes a day for years doesn't mean its good for me.

Well I have by following people that are doing it, if they were getting scurvy they wouldn't do it. Doing the Tide challenge isn't great either but has no bearing whether eating meat only is bad for someone given that its a decent protein/fat nutrient dense food.

To my mind nose to tail eating would seem to be more comprehensive while achieving the same goal

Alf Veedersane

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

well I'm not. If you don't eat organ or raw meat you will get scurvy. Look it up. The people who are doing it for years are eating organs. Which I mentioned above.

Or supplementing with vitamin C.

So, assuming you look after your vitamin C needs, wherein lies the danger?

jam_mac_jam

silverharp wrote: »

Well I have by following people that are doing it, if they were getting scurvy they wouldn't do it. Doing the Tide challenge isn't great either but has no bearing whether eating meat only is bad for someone given that its a decent protein/fat nutrient dense food.

To my mind nose to tail eating would seem to be more comprehensive while achieving the same goal

Yes, as I said they are obviously eating organs. As in my original post.

I am not sure what your point is. That not eating vitamin C doesn't cause scurvy because you follow somebody on Instagram.

jam_mac_jam

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Or supplementing with vitamin C.

So, assuming you look after your vitamin C needs, wherein lies the danger?

No danger at all. All those nutritionists that tell us to eat vegetables are obviously wrong.

Alf Veedersane

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

No danger at all. All those nutritionists that tell us to eat vegetables are obviously wrong.

The absence of something that's good for you doesn't necessarily make something bad for you.

Plenty of people have poor diets and don't get a broad range of micronutrients from veg. Doesn't make their diet dangerous.

The OP has said they're doing it for two weeks.

jam_mac_jam

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The absence of something that's good for you doesn't necessarily make something bad for you.

Plenty of people have poor diets and don't get a broad range of micronutrients from veg. Doesn't make their diet dangerous.

The OP has said they're doing it for two weeks.

Yes and he should stick to it for only two weeks to prevent nutrition deficiency.

As in said in my first post. And can't really get why i am getting jumped all over for the wild recommendation that you should also eat vegetables

Alf Veedersane

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Yes and he should stick to it for only two weeks to prevent nutrition deficiency.

As in said in my first post. And can't really get why i am getting jumped all over for the wild recommendation that you should also eat vegetables

The hyperbole probably. No one is jumping all over you; just pointing out that scurvy isn't that big a concern if you do it properly.

It's not necessarily dangerous and is at least worth posting up for comment on a Nutrition & Diet forum.

jam_mac_jam

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The hyperbole probably. No one is jumping all over you; just pointing out that scurvy isn't that big a concern if you do it properly.

It's not necessarily dangerous and is at least worth posting up for comment on a Nutrition & Diet forum.

Again as i said in my first post. If you are not eating organs or raw meat then there is a danger.

It's a faddy unhealthy diet. And If you are posting in a nutrition forum i also have the right to point that out.

Every single post i make is being jumped on because I am suggesting you should eat veg.

Alf Veedersane

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Again as i said in my first post. If you are not eating organs or raw meat then there is a danger.

It's a faddy unhealthy diet. And If you are posting in a nutrition forum i also have the right to point that out.

Every single post i make is being jumped on because I am suggesting you should eat veg.

Your posts aren't being jumped on. People don't always agree with elements of someone's points. And no one has questioned anything you said about vegetables.

And of course you have the right to make a point but sometimes people ask you to qualify your point of view and it doesn't have to be a big deal.

No one has jumped all over your posts. The Carnivore Diet doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I only queried the validity of it being dangerous in all cases.

If you feel so persecuted here then maybe discussion forums aren't for you.

jam_mac_jam

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

Your posts aren't being jumped on. People don't always agree with elements of someone's points. And no one has questioned anything you said about vegetables.

And of course you have the right to make a point but sometimes people ask you to qualify your point of view and it doesn't have to be a big deal.

No one has jumped all over your posts. The Carnivore Diet doesn't appeal to me in the slightest. I only queried the validity of it being dangerous in all cases.

If you feel so persecuted here then maybe discussion forums aren't for you.

Ok just going round in circles here. I'm out. I'm just repeating myself. So i will agree to disagree.
Not feeling persecuted at all.

silverharp

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Yes, as I said they are obviously eating organs. As in my original post.

I am not sure what your point is. That not eating vitamin C doesn't cause scurvy because you follow somebody on Instagram.

No they aren't, there are 2 groups of carnivores broadly, those that basically stick to beef and others that are more nose to tail. Look up Dr Shawn Baker, he was on Joe Rogan so that is probably a good place to start, he has been a beef only carnivore for a couple of years

Zamboni

Day 10

On the cost side. I like to buy only Irish meats and free range Irish poultry.
I've no problem buying Irish beef in any of the supermarkets but getting my hands on free range Irish chicken is becoming harder and harder.
Tesco do free range Irish drumsticks,thighs and whole chickens at reasonable value. BUT only in some stores. Frankly, I think people are nuts when they buy boxes of disgusting meat with stickers Produced in EU, sourced from EU, Thailand and Brazil. Buy Irish - support your farmers. Well reared Irish meat is a superfood. Also cuts down on global oil based transport. Rant over...
Irish lamb and pork is no bother. Lamb obviously can be a bit more expensive but delicious. I like lamb mince burgers.
Anyway a shop might look something like this...

€4.50 Tesco free range chicken
€4 Tesco chicken drumsticks (like them roasted)
€4 Tesco chicken things (like them boiled)
€8 Dunne's 2 x pork ribs (boiled)
€4 Lidl lamb steaks (grilled)
€3.20 Dozen free range eggs x 2
€6 Tesco 2 x beef steaks (fried)
Total €36ish - I would normally spend €30 a week on food so not a major difference

Comment: I think I am already at the conclusion this is no way a lifestyle I could sustain more than two weeks.
There are no issues with satiety/hunger and its not even that boring but as mentioned, I would have to begin eating organ meats of which I am not a big fan. I'd also be looking at supplements/fish oils etc and I always prefer to eat natural unprocessed foods.

Body comp - There is no doubt of fat loss and muscle retention, after the initial water weight loss. But none more than I would have normally achieved through paleo/keto and IF.

Also - I'm becoming a mild hypochondriac
Obviously my cholesterol has increased so now I'm suddenly very aware of my heart and any little change of heart rate.

JH_raheny

I don't think I could do two weeks but I might try 7 days just for the experience

Mellor

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Every single post i make is being jumped on because I am suggesting you should eat veg.

I think people were mainly disagreeing with you due to the claims you were making.

RDA for Vit C is 60-80mg. Amount required to avoid scurvy is only 10mg.
400g of grass fed beef has about 10mg.
There are probably negatives to this diet, scurvy isn't one.

Eating organ meat will obviously be better. People should be doing this anyway imo. Besides as the OP said

(if I was doing this for longer I'd definitely be including organ meats).

Soulsun

Fair play op

How is your sleeping patterns and your energy levels in general?

jam_mac_jam

Mellor wrote: »

I think people were mainly disagreeing with you due to the claims you were making.

RDA for Vit C is 60-80mg. Amount required to avoid scurvy is only 10mg.
400g of grass fed beef has about 10mg.
There are probably negatives to this diet, scurvy isn't one.

Eating organ meat will obviously be better. People should be doing this anyway imo. Besides as the OP said

Is that cooked as it doesn't agree with what i have looked up. I was under the impression you had to eat raw or organ as i said.

Also where are you going to get grass fed in Ireland in winter?

Mellor

jam_mac_jam wrote: »

Is that cooked as it doesn't agree with what i have looked up. I was under the impression you had to eat raw or organ as i said.

Also where are you going to get grass fed in Ireland in winter?

Cooking, especially over cooking, will lower nutrient content of all foods. Including vegetables.
I’d imagine the meat lovers who go fir this tend towards rare steak.

Organs have higher nutrient content. I don’t understand why “you have to eat organs” is an issue. We should all do that anyway (if you eat meat).

You’ll find grass fed beef in every butchers and supermarket in the country. The vast majority of beef and dairy in Ireland is grass fed. It’s only a novelty in the likes of the US were grain fed is common.

wakka12

Alf Veedersane wrote: »

The absence of something that's good for you doesn't necessarily make something bad for you.

Plenty of people have poor diets and don't get a broad range of micronutrients from veg. Doesn't make their diet dangerous.

The OP has said they're doing it for two weeks.

Well very few diets are 'dangerous' as in put you at immediate risk of death or injury , not eating any vegetables is extremely unhealthy, though.

Albhabeth

RIP your digestive system

jam_mac_jam

Mellor wrote: »

Cooking, especially over cooking, will lower nutrient content of all foods. Including vegetables.
I’d imagine the meat lovers who go fir this tend towards rare steak.

Organs have higher nutrient content. I don’t understand why “you have to eat organs” is an issue. We should all do that anyway (if you eat meat).

You’ll find grass fed beef in every butchers and supermarket in the country. The vast majority of beef and dairy in Ireland is grass fed. It’s only a novelty in the likes of the US were grain fed is common.

Undercooking is needed to get vitamin C from meat. That's why I mentioned it being raw or not. I am well aware that nutrients change but thanks for lecture.

I have said repeatedly that you have to eat organs to avoid problems if eating only meat so I am not really sure what your point is.

wakka12

Cows are fed hay in winter arent they? Rather than grain, not sure, but I assumed by all the big stacks of hay you see throughout the countryside here that it was a common source of food for livestock in the winter